HEROES
Everyone can upload and share all of their information about the superhero topic. = Special Area = Heroes and Superheroes # Questions to Discuss #* Are there different kinds of heroes? #* Do different societies have different views on what a hero is? #* Are heroic decisions rational decisions? #* What is the so-called “hero’s journey”? Does it apply in real life or just in fiction? #* Is there such a thing as a “villain’s journey”? #* Is heroism a personality disorder? #* What is an antihero? #* How is an antihero different from a villain? #* Are there villains in the real world—and, if so, do they know they are villains? #* Is a superhero just a hero with superpowers? #* If you were a superhero, would you keep your identity a secret? #* In real life, do villains ever think of themselves as villains? How about in fiction? #* How is a hero different from a leader? Or are they the same? #* Is society biased in favor of male heroes? How about superheroes? #* Are there enough stories about women who are heroes? #* Does it mean something different to be a heroic woman than a heroic man? #* Can the superheroes of today be compared to the gods of the ancient world? #* Are superheroes portrayed differently in different media? #* Are superheroes more popular than they used to be? If so, why? #* How different would our world be if we knew that superheroes existed? #* If we were to discover people with special abilities living among us, would we celebrate them—or fear them? #* Are superheroes ultimately an American creation reflecting or serving American interests? # Origin Stories: Calling All Heroes #* Prometheus Unbound: Heroes of Ancient Civilizations #* Medieval Heroes: Long Live the King (and the Rogue) #* The Golem, the Monkey King, and the Original Superheroes # One for All: Understanding the Hero #* The Heroic Mind: Insights from Psychology #* The Hero in Society: Insights from Anthropology and Sociology #* The Monomyth and the Hero’s Journey # With Great Power: Superheroes of the 20th and 21st Centuries #* Emergence in Comic Books #* The Comics Code Authority #* The Social and Historical Context of Superheroes #* Ascendance of Film Franchises #* Role of Superheroes in a Postmodern World # Can We Be Superheroes? The Science of… (Examples) #* Enhanced Vision | Exoskeletons | Human Flight #* Invisibility | Rapid Healing | Strength and Super-strength #* Super speed | Telepathy | Telekinesis #* Teleportation | Time Travel # Additional Terms to Learn (Examples) #* Achilles’ Heel | Archetype | Byronic Hero | Comicon #* Bystander effect | Epic | Everyman | Fatal Flaw #* Great Man Theory | Hero Worship | Hubris #* MCU | Paragon | Pulp | Risk-Seeking #* Sidekick | Trope | Villain | X-Altruist # Additional Superheroes to Research (Examples) #* Astro City | Wild Cards | Squirrel Girl #* Batman | Iron Man | Ms. Marvel (2014) #* Captain America | Superman | Buffy the Vampire Slayer #* Goku | Captain China | Wonder Woman #* X-Men | Spiderman | Sylar # Selected Film: The Dark Knight #* # Additional Questions & Cases to Discuss (Examples) #* Would Superman have been a Soviet hero if he had landed in Russia instead of Kansas as a baby? In other words, to what degree does the fate of a superhero depend on nature versus nurture? #* Should it be a goal of well-functioning societies to "destroy as many opportunities for heroism as possible"?" #* Why do some people sacrifice themselves to save others, while others stand back and hope for the best -- or run the other way? In other words, what is the psychology of heroism? #* Are Byronic heroes more popular than traditional heroes? Are they more desirable? #* Are there genetic and personality similarities between heroes and villains? #* Do Thomas Carlyle’s six types of heroism still apply today? Do they omit any kinds of heroism that have become prevalent in the 20th and 21st centuries? #* Can animals be heroes too? #* Should superheroes be more ethnically and culturally diverse? #* Did 9/11 jumpstart a new era of interest in superheroes? How long will it last? #* Are superheroes the Greek gods of today’s world? #* Why are there so few notable British (and non-American) superheroes?